Herat Governor visits Camp Arena, speaks on transition

Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace | Afghan children gather in Herat City during their school opening March 17, 2011. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai selected Herat as a transition city and Herat’s governor, Dr. Daoud Saba, has implemented processes for transition.
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The visit comes one day after Islamic Republic of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s March 22 speech in Kabul, where he named Herat as a transitional city.

“We say to the international community, Afghans should take the security themselves,” said Karzai. “The transition means we will take security [and] defend the country. This will be done by Afghans.”

Herat is Afghanistan’s second-largest city and borders Iran and Turkmenistan.

Saba said Herat Herat City has already been in transition and residents are prepared to back the president’s plan.

“We have full responsibility for security and we very rarely call on international alliance to have them help us in the city,” said Saba. “The people of Herat are proud of taking on this responsibility and start implementing the program. It means a lot to them. It gives them the confidence that they can do it as they have done in the past thousands of years.”

Not just city dwellers will be affected. Those in small villagers will also be involved in the transition process.

“I think that Herat City will inspire the surrounding villages of Herat City to prepare for the next phase of transition which will be the surrounding districts as well as eventually the whole province,” said Saba.

Saba assured the Herat population that they are still an international priority.

“First of all, they should never think they are left to themselves fully,” he said of Herat residents. “We will have our friends on our side, our strategic partners on our side as much as we need them and as much as there’s a requirement for them.

“But, we have to walk, and with full confidence, I think we are able to do it,” continued Saba. “We have the capacity and we have the decision that we will do it. I asked all the citizens of Herat to support this program as they have done it during the consultations I have done with them. They showed preparedness and I’m sure we’ll go forward to defend our country, defend our rights of sovereignty, and defend our freedom and achievements of the past ten years and opening new opportunities to the coming generations in Afghanistan.”